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Monica Raymond Announces Exit From "Chicago Fire"

It's time to say goodbye to Gabriela Dawson.

Monica Raymund, who has portrayed Dawson on NBC's Chicago Fire since 2012, announced that she will not be returning for the seventh season.

The actress posted a handwritten note on Twitter explaining her decision to leave is fueled by the need to "move on."

It has been an honor to play Dawson on Chicago Fire and one of the most meaningful experience of my life. I am so thankful for the journey and especially to all of you for watching, but I have made the decision that it’s time for me to move on to the next chapter in life. I’ll always be proud to have played a fierce paramedic with such an incredible cast and crew. On to the next! See you on the ice. Love, Monica," she wrote.

This would explain the season 6 cliffhanger which found Dawson accepting a job offer in Puerto Rico.

It's comforting that the series left the door open for her to return instead of killing her off like Chicago PD did with Elias Koteas' Alvin Olinsky on the season 5 finale.

But what does Dawson's exit mean for her TV husband Matt Casey?

Jesse Spencer revealed that he's interested in seeing his character as a single man.

“I think they do belong together. They’ve always been playing toward that. But just because I think they do, things happen in life,” he told US Weekly. "That’s the sadness of it, but I think they know that they’re a good couple together and they’ve been through a lot. It’d be sad to see something like a baby comes up, they can’t figure out or move around or work together on … it is kind of tragic.”

There's no doubt about it, it'll be interesting to see how they work her absence into the narrative.

However, this isn't the first time one of the Chicago franchise's had to go on without a lead cast member. Season 4 of Chicago PD saw Sophia Bush's character Lindsay exit the series when she moved to New York.

Fans thought without Lindsay, the series would lose its way, but thanks to the writers, it hasn't skipped a beat.